


The Face on the Card

by breathmint25



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-13
Updated: 2012-06-27
Packaged: 2017-11-07 15:45:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/432806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breathmint25/pseuds/breathmint25
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lily Luna Potter finds some familiar faces in her Chocolate Frog cards and learns a bit about her family history as a result. Threeshot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Uncle Ron

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. All Chocolate Frog card facts are from the Harry Potter Lexicon.

The Burrow was a war zone. Or at least it looked like one. There were remnants of wrappings and ribbons so thick one couldn't see the floor underneath. And if making the trek to the kitchen, one had to proceed cautiously, for there were action figures and doll accessories and copious other bits and bobs waiting to attack innocent feet. The living room floor had taken down more than one Weasley that afternoon.

And the noise, oh the noise. Screams of excitement, laughter, dozens of conversations, arguments between siblings and spouses, the ruckus magical toys always made, the occasional explosion when one of the kids tried out George's latest prototype, and the buzz of the oven as Molly Weasley's pies finished.

Yes, it was definitely a war zone…but Ron Weasley loved every minute of it.

He was seated on the living room couch, one arm around his lovely wife and the other clutching a glass of Butterbeer (no alcohol at family events where the kids were present—a strict Molly Weasley rule after many events proving the necessity of such a ban). He and Hermione were the adults-in-charge of the living room, keeping a close eye on the nieces and nephews playing with their new toys by the fireplace.

Ron heard Hugo shout something upstairs, and briefly wondered if he should brave the living room floor to go investigate. But when he heard an angry French accent respond, he settled back down. Fleur was just as capable of disciplining his kids as he was.

He took in the living room scene before him. Al was seated in his Grandpa Weasley's chair, intently reading a new book. Lily and Roxanne were playing with their dolls by the hearth. And James and Fred were bent over something that Ron would have to break up sooner or later. But for now it was an idyllic scene.

Ron leaned his head on his Hermione's shoulder and smiled, allowing his eyes to flutter shut. He had been on duty yesterday, up until nearly 2 am. Dark wizards loved ruining people's holidays after all. Then Rosie and Hugo had been up by 7 and he had been awake ever since. His Mum's amazing cooking wasn't helping matters. But he had had to try everything at least twice—it was rude not to wasn't it? He felt Hermione pat the hand on her shoulder gently and snuggled closer. Just a few seconds and he would be…

"UNCLE RON! UNCLE RON LOOK! LOOK LOOK UNCLE RON!"

He sat up so fast that his Butterbeer went flying all over his trousers, and he barely managed to bite back the curse on his lips. Hermione waved her wand at him and he got off the couch and onto his knees, hoping he wouldn't suffer pain-by-toy in the process. His niece raced over to him, conquering the dangerous living room floor with apparent ease.

"What is it Lily?"

She thrust a Chocolate Frog card in his face, jumping up and down. She had apparently stopped playing with her dolls in order to fetch a Chocolate Frog from her stocking. Seeing a familiar face on the accompanying card had caused her a great deal of surprise.

"IT'S YOU UNCLE RON! IT'S YOU ON THE CHOCOLATE FROG CARD!"

"All that fuss for one measly Chocolate Frog Card with some ginger-haired wanker on it?" Ron laughed and shook his head at her.

"Ron!" a combination of wives, aunts, mums, and grandmums exclaimed in tandem throughout the Burrow. Despite his status as Daddy and Uncle Ron, Ron still had the same colorful vocabulary that he had had at seventeen. Although he was pretty good at keeping it clean around the kids, every so often, he let one slip. He secretly enjoyed passing his language habits to the next generation of Weasleys and Potters. He would never fully grow up and he was proud of that fact.

"Haven't you seen my card before, Lily?" When his niece shook his head, he looked confused. Lily was five, yet she hadn't seen his card? Clearly his sister and his best mate weren't feeding their kids enough chocolate.

He glanced down at the familiar card, smiling at his eighteen-year-old self. Lily peered at the card with him, giggling as picture Ron began waving at them.

"Greatest accomplishment of my life this is, Lily. Once you get your Chocolate Frog card, that's when you know you've made it. Almost made everything we went through worth it."

"You look different though, Uncle Ron!" Lily had finally found her inside voice again.

Lily was a bit confused on what her Uncle Ron meant, and why he and Aunt Hermione didn't look quite as cheery as they had before. But that wasn't really the important part. Uncle Ron had his own card! He was famous!

"Well, that's because I was eighteen when this picture was taken. Your Uncle Ron was quite a good-looking bloke wasn't he? Luckily, I'm not eighteen anymore—I was a bit of prat back then as Aunt Hermione can tell you."

"You still are a prat," Hermione said fondly. Lily giggled—Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione were so silly. They were happily married, but they were always insulting each other. Daddy said that was how they showed their love for each other.

"But you know, I'm not the only one in this humungous family to have one you know."

"Really?" Lily gasped.

"Yeah, stupid. Dad's got one too!" James called from across the room.

Lily stuck her tongue out at him as their recently arrived mother scolded him for his language.

"Hey now," Hermione protested, "Having a Chocolate Frog Card is not just a male pursuit you know! Numerous women have them you know, such as Queen Maeve, and Bridget Wenlock, who discovered the magical properties of the number seven, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff and Ignatia Wildsmith for inventing Floo Powder and and…"

"And Leopoldina Smethwyck, the first witch to referee a Quidditch match and of course Gwenog Jones, finest captain in the history of the Harpies!" Ginny called, always willing to offer 'Women in Quidditch' facts.

"And Hermione Granger-Weasley, for being bloody brilliant!" Ron supplied helpfully.

"Honestly, Ron, do watch your mouth!" Hermione's bright smile gave away her true feelings on the matter though.

"You've got one too, Aunt Hermione?" Lily was jumping up and down. This fact excited her more than the fact that Daddy had one. Daddy was Harry Potter; of course he'd have a Chocolate Frog Card. And Uncle Ron was a big Auror. But Aunt Hermione just had a boring job at the Ministry and she had a card! It was exciting!

"Of course she's got one! Deserves it the most she does!" Ron boasted. Everyone in the Weasley/Potter family knew Uncle Ron was Aunt Hermione's biggest fan and he was never afraid to show it.

Hermione just beamed while Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother's mushiness. James and Fred pretended to gag at each other and went back to their experiment. Roxanne was still playing with her dolls, well aware of the family Chocolate Frog card recipients. Al, typically, hadn't even looked up at the commotion.

And as the female Weasleys and Potters continued to discuss important women in history, Ron zoned out. His part in the conversation was now over and he had lost his Butterbeer. His knees were starting to hurt and his tiredness had come back in full-force. He glanced down at the floor with longing. Dangerous toys be damned! Within seconds, he had flopped onto the floor and was sound asleep.

There was a moment of silence as everyone in the living room glanced at him. But then Hermione merely summoned a blanket and pillow and the noise continued. People often slept in weird places at the Burrow—there were never enough beds for all of them.

And Ron was completely unaware as Hermione and Lily tucked the orange blanket in and put his head on the pillow. Lily's giggle went unheard when she found a Merlin action figure poking his elbow. Nor was he conscious when James and Fred's explosion finally went off.

And when Lily finally went back to her dolls, she left the card on the couch, giving Hermione amble opportunity to look at it.

Hermione hummed contently as she picked up the card. She had seen this picture hundreds of times, yet it always brought a grin to her face. Eighteen-year-old Ron with the cheeky smile she had fallen in love with. Picture Ron didn't have his happy look this time though, as he was looking at his older self with a disgruntled look. He was no doubt annoyed that older Ron had been the first to conk out of the party. Younger Ron had always considered his ability to stay awake no matter what a point of pride.

"Now, now," Hermione scolded picture Ron, "He had a very long night at work and then got up too early this morning for the kids. Not to mention all the carbs he put into his—er, your—stomach! He deserves some sleep." She then stopped, realizing it was quite ridiculous to argue with her husband about, well…her husband.

Not that this Ron had been her husband. Hell, this Ron hadn't even seen her naked yet! Wasn't that a weird thought…

And Ron slept on through his wife's laughter.


	2. Aunt Hermione

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I also don't own the idea of how the Chocolate Frog cards interact—I've read it in several fics and manipulated the concept for my own purpose.

Lily KNEW she was not supposed to be eating Chocolate Frogs an hour before dinner. Of course she knew that. But it had just been so EASY to get them. One moment Mummy was at the stove cooking up dinner, the next she had been in the Floo talking to Aunt Angelina about James sleeping over. Could Lily be blamed for taking advantage of an opportunity if Mummy gave her amble time to wander into the kitchen, duck into the pantry, and snatch a few Frogs out of the jar on the third shelf?

Of course not.

And so here she was, sitting in her room munching on her prizes, keeping a close eye on the door, in case Mummy should enter with a request to set the table. She was in such a hurry to finish her pre-dinner snack that she didn't bother looking at her new cards. When she heard Mummy's footsteps on the stairs, she shoved the evidence under her pillow and went out before her mother could get suspicious.

It wasn't until later, after dinner, that she managed to get back to her cards. And she nearly let out a shriek when she found a familiar face looking back at her from one of them. It was Aunt Hermione! Younger Aunt Hermione, with smoother hair than Lily had ever seen in real life. Aunt Hermione who was reading The Tales of Beedle the Bard, an odd choice of reading material, in Lily's opinion, for a woman who was so well-educated. Aunt Hermione looked up from her book to peer at Lily interestingly, a smile instantly crossing her face. Lily felt a sense of guilt wash over her.

Though Aunt Hermione had been a rule-breaker in her younger days, and certainly had sympathy for rule-breakers under the right circumstances, she also held a respect for both regulation and obedience to such regulation. Lily knew Aunt Hermione would not approve of her sneaking sweets before dinner against Mummy's wishes. She could almost hear Aunt Hermione's voice in her head—"Lily Potter, your mother told you not to eat before supper and you do it anyway? What was the benefit of breaking that rule?" Aunt Hermione was very big on rule breaking having a benefit. Like when Daddy disobeyed his bad professor's rules to start the DA—that was beneficial. When Aunt Hermione lied and said she was in Australia with her parents during the war—that was beneficial. Eating Chocolate Frogs before dinner? Not beneficial. And Lily was not secure enough in her lying ability to try to lie to Aunt Hermione. So instead of Flooing her and informing her of the found card, Lily decided the best course of action was to place the card in one of the many books Aunt Hermione had gifted her. Important Women of the Wizarding World would do nicely seeing as how Aunt Hermione WAS an important woman in the Wizarding World. And so Lily apologetically slammed her book onto Aunt Hermione's card and tried to act nonchalantly whenever Uncle Ron asked her if she had found either of the other two family Chocolate Frog cards yet.

But only a few months later, on a Saturday where Mummy was in a good mood and was letting them all have a Frog after lunch, Lily found Aunt Hermione's card again. This time she had the proper reaction: shouting, waving the card, and insisting that she be allowed to Floo Aunt Hermione immediately.

So Mummy had set up the Floo for her and Lily stuck her head in shouting "AUNT HERMIONE! AUNT HERMIONE!" at the top of her lungs.

Aunt Hermione appeared wearing an old Cannons t-shirt and jeans, with her very bushy ponytail threatening to consume her face. It was such a different image than that on her card that Lily could not help but laugh.

"What on earth is the matter, Lily? First you shout my name multiple times like a banshee and now you're laughing at me? What did I do to deserve this?"

"Look Aunt Hermione! It's you on the Chocolate Frog card! And you look really different!"

Hermione studied the card intently for a moment and shook her head, laughing at her foolishness.

"Well, when the picture was taken I was very concerned about my appearance. After all, this picture will be on my card FOREVER. So I took an absurdly long time fixing my hair for the shoot. It was ridiculous really. I don't think I've ever spent so much time on my appearance as I did that day…except perhaps the times I was trying to impress your Uncle Ron."

Lily smiled at this confession. Aunt Hermione always seem to think primping was a waste of valuable time, To know that she had had her girly moments was rather a relief to hear. Aunt Hermione could seem very impressive at times, even when she was wearing her Saturday chore clothes.

Lily remembered the thought she had had when discovering Uncle Ron's card. Daddy and Uncle Ron were big Aurors, so of course they would have cards. But Aunt Hermione just stayed in her Ministry office all day—yet she still had a card!

"Aunt Hermione! I'm so glad you've got a Chocolate Frog card even though you only have a boring job at the Ministry!"

Lily instantly realized this had been the wrong thing to say as Aunt Hermione immediately started up a lecture.

"My job boring? Well I suppose compared to the glamorous Auror Department, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement does seem a bit boring. But in actuality Lily, my job is quite fascinating! Why I don't know if your Dad ever told you about the organization I had at school, S.P.E.W., but my job is an extension of that. I get to fight for the under oppressed such as the house-elves. Did you know Lily, that house-elves are freer than ever thanks to my work? They're getting wages now and holidays and pensions and…"

And so the rant continued with no end in sight. Aunt Hermione expounded on werewolves, vampires, and was just getting to merpeople when thankfully Mummy saved Lily from her dear aunt's wrath.

Once safely ensconced in her room, Lily went to her bookshelf and pulled out her other Aunt Hermione card. She laughed at the difference between the two pictures: the Aunt Hermione who had been left in the bookcase looking very disgruntled and flipping through the pages of her book furiously, the newest Aunt Hermione studying Lily closely, no doubt wondering why she looked familiar.

It was strange, Lily mused, that she should find both Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione's cards before she found Daddy's, seeing as how Daddy's card was much more popular. But in a way, it was fitting. Daddy was always saying how he would have never accomplished anything at all if not for Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron. He always tried to get them the most recognition, to put them first in the Trio before himself, despite what the press said. In a way, just as Uncle Ron was Aunt Hermione's biggest fan, Daddy was BOTH Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione's biggest fan. This was ironic considering how many fans Daddy had.

Lily was struck with an idea and scooted under her bed to find her Chocolate Frog Card box. It did not take her long to find Uncle Ron's card, as she intentionally had left it near the front. She watched in amusement as she faced the two cards towards each other. Uncle Ron immediately flushed and reached a hand up to pat his hair down while Aunt Hermione looked down at her book quickly. It was obvious even from their cards that they fancied each other.

"You two are married now, sillies!" Lily exclaimed at them.

At this announcement, the two pictures looked up at each other simultaneously and then both looked down again just as fast. Lily giggled—she'd have to tell Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron about the interaction of their pictures the next time she saw them.

But when she told them, at the next Weasley Family dinner, they both just smiled.

"We know dear," Aunt Hermione informed her, having apparently forgiven her for their Floo call, "When the pictures were taken your Uncle Ron and I had only just gotten around to declaring a relationship. Thus we were a tad awkward around each other at the time and our cards reflect that."

"But if you ever put our cards face-to-face for a while and then come back and look again, picture Uncle Ron and picture Aunt Hermione look very flustered. I wonder what they are doing in there, eh Lily?"

"RON!"

Lily just laughed. Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione were so funny. And how had they figured that out anyway?

But the next time she had both of their cards out, she definitely tried what Uncle Ron had said. And indeed, they did look very flustered.


	3. Daddy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
> 
> Also, I have a prequel to this story that I'll post soon!

If one ever doubted that Harry Potter had fans, they'd only need to look at the state of his family's kitchen on his birthday.

Bags upon bags of letters and cards. A huge number of parcels, containing a variety of items—from food to sculptures to animals, and even the occasional pair of underwear (to which Ginny always set fire).

To Harry and Ginny, it was a nightmare.

To their children, it was bliss.

"Look at all this stuff!" James marveled, as if it didn't happen every year. The Potter children knew that July 31st was only the peak—the first items usually arrived a week before and the flow would continue into the first week of August.

"We're supposed to wait for Mum and Dad though before we look at it," Al pointed out. Harry and Ginny were very paranoid and insisted on being present when the gifts were sorted through, lest something untoward should be found.

"That's a stupid rule," James complained, "Who'd want to hurt Dad? He's Harry Potter. Saviour of the Wizarding World and all that."

Lily agreed with her brother. Daddy was the most famous person in their world, beloved by all. It didn't seem fair that they had to wait to look at the goodies just because Mummy and Daddy were having a nap.

So when James decided to throw caution to the wind and open the first bag of parcels, Lily was right on his heels, figuring it would not be as bad if they all took part. Al hesitated, clearly not wanting to disobey, but soon he too was in the midst of the fray.

Excited shrieks filled the kitchen as treasure after treasure was found. Even though it was Daddy's birthday, presents were sent to all of them, gifts from businesses looking for promotion. James fawned over a new Quidditch set while Al examined a toy dragon curiously. Lily just wanted a new doll.

As she rummaged through one of the bags, she found a box of Chocolate Frogs. Popping one into her mouth, she glanced at the card. A familiar pair of emerald-green eyes was gazing up at her. She was so flabbergasted to see her Daddy's face that she dropped the entire box on the floor. It made a loud crash.

Within minutes, all of three Potter children were very unhappy indeed.

\-------

It was silent in Lily's room. She down at her newest card, frowning. The sight of Daddy's younger face should have brought a smile to her face. Instead, she only felt guilt.

Daddy and Mummy had been furious. They had all been sent to their rooms with no birthday cake. And now Lily was waiting for Daddy to come and have a talk with her.

But she didn't fully understand why her parents were angry, not really. There were wards on their house and on their mail. Very, very complex wards too, Lily knew, that had the capability to detect a host of different magical enchantments. (If one of his kids asked why they such far-reaching and unique wards, Daddy's only response would be "Beetles.") Daddy was always roaming around the house at night, ready to defend his family at the slightest noise. So Lily didn't know why he and Mummy would think something bad could get in.

She wondered how she would be punished. Her punishment could be losing her dolls or her broom or not going to Uncle George's shop for a while or having to skip the monthly Potter-Weasley Girl Cousin sleepover. None sounded particularly good. She was still brooding over the options when Daddy appeared.

And they began to talk. Daddy told her many things, some she knew and some she didn't know. About the war, about how Muggleborns had been treated, how the bad wizard ("Voldemort," Daddy always gently reminded her) had tried to terrorize everyone. How it had been a very bad time. And how, even 16 years later, there were still supporters of Voldemort's ideas roaming around. Supporters who would like nothing more than to hurt Daddy.

"And you see Lily, they know that the absolute worst way they could hurt me is if they hurt one of my kids instead. Because I love the three of you more than anything else in the world."

Lily was terribly sorry and she promised never to look through the bags by himself every again. She swore up and down multiple times, on her dolls, on her broom, even on Al's head. (And that was a serious vow, seeing as Al was her favorite brother.)

And Daddy had laughed and then told her another reason he was so paranoid about the birthday post.

"Constant Vigilance, Lily, Constant Vigilance!" And every time Daddy he said it he laughed and then Lily laughed and then they both laughed. And Lily did not understand then why it was so funny. But Daddy's laugh had always made her laugh.

But then Harry grew serious, for he owed his daughter an apology as well.

"I'm very sorry too, Lily, because I know it is not easy being a part of my family sometimes. I wish you could tear into a box of candy like any other child could. I really do."

Lily did not automatically shrug him off. Even at six she knew the difficulties of being Harry Potter's daughter. And the difficulties would only get worse as she grew older. She did not even want to think about the fuss that would be made at Hogwarts.

There were some bad things about being a Potter/Weasley. The press attention, the uncertainty about whether friendships were genuine, and the feeling of needing to live up to the standard for example. Sometimes Lily couldn't wait until she got married so that she could change her last name. The refrain of "You're Harry Potter's kid right?" got annoying, not to mention it was rather insulting—she was Ginny Weasley's kid too!

But more than all that, Lily knew her family loved her, adored her. And at five-years-old, that was enough for her. So she just hugged her Daddy tightly and smiled.

Then they decided Lily would not get on her broom for two weeks, and the hard part of the conversation was finally over.

And when the talk was done, Lily could breathe again. Moving on, she wanted to show her daddy her latest find.

Look, Daddy! I found you in the box of candy."

Daddy looked at her confusedly, but she merely offered the card to him, hoping Daddy wouldn't scold her again for eating the candy.

Daddy smirked at his card before pulling Lily into a hug.

"Now you should put this card in the bottom of your box. Cover it up with far more interesting witches and wizards all right?"

Lily shook her head firmly. Daddy was silly. Didn't he know how famous he was? The greatest wizard in history!

"Don't be silly, Daddy. You're cool. How many other daddies have their own Chocolate Frog Card? Not many. You're special!"

Harry just laughed.

"Oh…" Lily realized she needed to qualify her statement, "Well Uncle Ron's got one too, and he's Rose and Hugo's daddy, but besides him! Besides him, Daddy you're special!"

Harry was still laughing when Lily realized something awful. Rose and Hugo had TWO parents with their own Chocolate Frog Cards. She only had one!

She flung herself off the bed, and was out the door before her father could even react, intent on making her mother do something memorable enough to warrant her own card. She was going to have to come out of retirement and be the best Quidditch player ever. Or become an Auror. Or find a new use for werewolf spit. Or something like that. Mummy had to even the field! Lily would not be behind Rose and Hugo!

But before she was all the way out the door, she remembered something very important.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!" she shouted excitedly, before turning back to her mission.

Harry Potter watched his daughter go, wondering what on earth was going on in her head, and then smiled down at his younger self fondly. Picture Harry rolled his eyes at his older self, annoyed at the scrutiny.

Here was a Harry Potter who had just defeated the evilest wizard in history, a Harry Potter who was still tired, who still slept with his wand in his hand. A Harry Potter who needed a haircut. A Harry Potter who thought he had finished his job for good. 18-year-old Harry Potter had been looking forward to a quiet life.

Present-day, 35-year-old Harry Potter snorted.

"You have no idea what you're getting into do you mate? You thought it ended with Voldemort...but your life was really just beginning."

And he sat back on his daughter's bed and thought about everything that had happened to him in the years between eighteen and thirty-five. The work he had done. The simple joys he had experienced. But most of all, he thought of the family he had officially joined.

His family was unique. They had a spirit that few families could claim. They had fought and conquered, they had won with honor. They were the Potters and the Weasleys. And they had the Chocolate Frog Cards to prove it.


End file.
